Last week’s episode nominally
focused around it’s eponymous character, Tahani Al-Jamil. And while we did get
a little insight into Tahani’s feelings about The Good Place and her
relationship with Jianyu, “Tahani Al-Jamil” mostly continued the story of
Eleanor and her struggle to be good.
I
mention that because this week’s episode, “Jason Mendoza”, fully commits to its
titular character and it comes off much the better for it. Jason Mendoza is the
real name of Jianyu, the supposedly Buddhist monk whom we learned last week is
not all that he seems. Well this week, we learn a whole lot more about Jason.
Namely, that he is an amateur DJ, a lover of buffalo wings, and a huge, huge
idiot.
Jason
is a great character, falling somewhere in the category of lovable moron. He
loves EDM and decorates his “bud hole”, his private room in his dream mansion
with Tahani, with pictures of cars, girls in bikinis, and video game
memorabilia. His favorite meal he ever had was at a restaurant called Stupid
Nick's Wing Dump where topless women ate for free. He wears a football jersey
over his monk’s robes and, when threatened with possible expulsion from The
Good Place, doesn’t understand why he can’t download all the porn off of
Michael’s computer and then blackmail him into staying quiet. He also wonders
aloud if Janet, the omniscient computer, is single. Just hilarious.
But
outside of all the jokes, Jason is also a fully realized character. I’ve said
before that the flashbacks in this show were a detriment and didn’t contribute
much, but “Jason Mendoza” is a case of flashbacks done correctly. Jason may
have been a fool while he was alive, but he had dreams and a real desire to
achieve them. The past also directly ties into the present, with his refusal to
pretend to be AcidCat, even if it makes him popular, feeding into his growing
refusal to be Jianyu. The easy joke would be to say that he is too dumb to stay
silent, but it’s more than that. Jason Mendoza has actual pathos.
Jason
is also a very smart writing choice. As I’ve mentioned before, there are only
so many times that Eleanor can learn her lesson before we either get bored or
all her sharp edges are filed down. Jason’s ignorance and his inability to
grasp how much trouble he may be if his Jianyu deception is uncovered, opens up
a whole lot of plot options. It also allows Kristen Bell to play a wider
range as she can be the straight women to his idiocy.
There
are going to be a few more quotes this week as this episode had a
better-than-average hit ratio for me. I laughed out loud several times. So much
credit needs to go to Manny Jacinto. In the flashbacks, he plays Jason with a
certain combination of naiveté and wistfulness that makes him both pitiable and
lovable at the same time. Bell had a stellar week as well, reacting with
increasing alarm to Jacinto’s antics. Overall a great episode and my favorite
so far.
Grade: B+
MEMORABLE MOMENTS
•
“There's so much
thoughts in my brain, it's like my head is filled with rocks.”
•
Jason on The Good
Place: “It’s either an alien zoo or a prank show”
•
“You should listen to me. I
came up with hundreds of plans in my life and only one of them got me killed.” - Jason’s rationale for why his plan to blackmail
Michael will work.
•
“Eleanor, you
broke Jianyu”
•
"I don't
wanna DJ in Jacksonville all my life. I wanna DJ in Daytona!” - Jason on life
dreams
•
“So dumb, so much
dumber than belts” - a delighted Michael referencing his new suspenders
•
"You broke
THE WORLD. That's not a compliment.” - Bell’s half-smile really makes this one.
•
“I am here to
learn about ethnics.”
Photo Credit: NBC
No comments:
Post a Comment